Think positive and you’ll hole more putts.

It doesn’t matter how well you hit the ball from tee to green, your score won’t reflect how good you are unless you can hole out in comparatively few shots. Likewise on days when you are hitting the ball badly, you can scramble a good score together if you can putt well. If you want to succeed at golf try not to lose sight of those two facts. I’ve won tournaments when my driving or irons have not been at their best but I cannot every remember winning a tournament when I was putting badly.

Your first step to becoming a good putter is to think positive. If you believe you can hole a putt or get it really close, then in general you will. If you believe you are going to miss a putt or not get it near the hole, then in general you will.  

Firstly, visualise the ball going in the hole, secondly, believe you can hole it, and most importantly of all, keep telling yourself "I am a good putter". Try it and I’m sure you’ll see with a more positive approach to your putting, you’ll surprise yourself and hole more putts. Always remember, if you think that you are a good putter, then you always will be ..... a good putter! 

Many people get anxious when faced with a shot from just off the green. This anxiety usually leads them to use their putter rather than try to execute the chip shot. Sometimes it is impossible to be accurate using the putter especially when the fringe is rough or the ground uneven. If you are one who always uses a putter, try the chip/putt for better control.

Take a seven or six iron, get in close over the ball as if it were a putt and use your putter grip and set up. You should now have your eye over the ball so the shaft is almost vertical and the clubhead resting up on the toe. The ball will now be slightly off the toe end of the club and this will help to deaden the hit and give more control.

Play the shot using your normal putting stroke ensuring that you keep your wrists firm as in putting. You will see how the ball jumps up over the fringe and lands on the green taking the uncertainty of the fringe out of the shot therefore giving you more consistency.

Aim for the target!

Week in, week out, I see golfers not aimed at the target. Getting aligned is difficult because when you are in your set-up position, your eye should not be looking down the target line, but to the left of it. Golfers tend to aim their feet and body to the target which means that everything is aiming to the right of where they intend the ball to go. Let's face it, if you are not aiming at the target, you can hardly expect the ball to go there.

A few minutes every now and then with a couple of clubs will help to keep you in the correct line. Place a club on the ground running parallel with the ball-to-target-line to align your feet, knees, hips and shoulders. Use a club to check that your body is running parallel to your ball-to-target-line.

It is difficult to check if your shoulders are on line, so look down and imagine a line running across your forearms - this should also be parallel. Get a friend to help check your alignment with you.

You'll be surprised at how much easier it is the hit the target when you are actually aiming at it!

Why not book a lesson with me now and get your aiming checked - I'm sure it will knock shots off your score.

Adopt a Consistent Ball Position for All Your Irons

Consistency is the main key for the golf swing and therefore it gives good reason to do the same thing in adopting the ball position in relation to your feet. Varying the ball position for different irons only makes the game more complicated for the average golfer. 

Unless you’re experimenting with fades, draws, high or low shots most golfers should position the ball about two to three inches inside the left heel for all your irons. By being consistent with this method, you will be able to encourage the shoulders to position naturally in the square set up.  

If the ball gets too far forward, the shoulders will align to the left. This promotes a steeper out to in swing and will produce more slice spin on the ball. If the ball gets too far back, the shoulders will tend to align to the right, giving the opposite effect, a flatter in to out swing which will produce more hook spin on the ball. 

Get into the good habit of starting off standing directly opposite the ball with the feet together and firstly moving the left foot 2 to 3 inches to the left to keep the ball position consistent.